On that night, the Golden State Warriors visited Philadelphia. If you want to know why Sirianni repeats the term \u201cjoy\u201d in everything from postgame locker room speeches to his public comments, if you want to know why you can\u2019t walk throughout the Eagles\u2019 facility without seeing images of players celebrating together and why there\u2019s a video montage during Monday meetings spotlighting joy, it\u2019s because of Steve Kerr \u2014 the coach across the street that evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI attribute that a lot to Coach Kerr,\u201d Sirianni explained.<\/p>\n
Sirianni admires \u201csustained success\u201d \u2014 a term he used after winning the Super Bowl last season and that looms ahead of the opening-round playoff game this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers for the fifth postseason appearance in five seasons\u00a0 \u2014 and he\u2019s tried to study cultures that have helped foster that success.<\/p>\n
One that resonated was what Kerr implemented in Golden State. The Warriors won four titles and reached the championship six times in eight years. (It\u2019s also a culture that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has said he admired.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really interested in Steve Kerr\u2019s, and one of the things he talked about in his culture that I\u2019ve read about \u2026was just joy,\u201d Sirianni said last season. \u201cOne thing I read: He made it a point of putting up pictures of the guys in the building, of that current team celebrating and really talking about their core values. \u2026 There are a ton of pictures and video boards of our guys doing those things. That\u2019s inspired by Coach Kerr there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ve had that with the video boards \u2014 you see those in the locker room \u2014 and the pictures. We started at the beginning of this year, showing some of the celebrations there when we recap the game. It\u2019s a little quick highlight video of the guys talking and showing our culture. Our tough, detailed, together culture. We like to point those things out. Just like we like to point out things from the game, whether mistakes or good things, and how we go over that, we thought that it would be good to do that same thing with culture points.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Saquon Barkley\u2019s famous backward leap is one of the photos Nick Sirianni keeps around to remind players of joy. (Elsa \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Across the street, Kerr was told about the connection and smiled. The two have never met. They\u2019ve never spoken. But he appreciated how a Super Bowl-winning coach pinpointed \u201cjoy,\u201d because it\u2019s central to Kerr\u2019s identity as a coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talk about it, but I want the players to feel it,\u201d Kerr told The Athletic. \u201cI don\u2019t want them to have to think, \u2018Oh, joy is a value of ours.\u2019 It has to come alive. It has to be authentic and real. And I think Steph Curry sets a tone in that regard. He\u2019s such a joyful player that it came pretty naturally, but it is a value of mine \u2014 my own \u2014 that I brought to the team that I felt like it was a big part of who I am, and what I value, and I wanted the team to feel that reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eagles\u2019 celebration photos are notable for the intentionality. There could be photos of Saquon Barkley\u2019s backward leap<\/a> or Jalen Hurts\u2019 pass to Smith for \u201cthe Dagger\u201d in the Super Bowl<\/a> or Cooper DeJean\u2019s pick-six.<\/a> Sirianni reminds players in the rotunda outside the locker room of the team celebrating together. Sirianni figures if a team values connection, it must be personified and not just preached.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a huge one,\u201d offensive tackle Jordan Mailata said. \u201cGuys achieving greatness, and guys celebrating. \u2026Every game, there\u2019s moments of joy together on film, guys celebrating together.\u201d<\/p>\n The images are meant to reinforce the values. In Sirianni\u2019s office, he keeps photos of Kenneth Gainwell and Jahan Dotson getting stopped short of the goal line in Super Bowls. It would seem odd to focus on those plays until you realize that the players are not reaching the ball toward the goal line in a risky manner \u2014 a fundamental that Sirianni emphasizes in ball security meetings.<\/p>\n If done correctly, these images translate to the way the Eagles practice and play. Otherwise, they\u2019re merely office decorations ready to be disposed of during the next remodeling.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t just write it on a wall \u2014 you write \u2018joy,\u2019 or whatever your value is. You write it on a wall, it doesn\u2019t do anything,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cThe players have to feel it. It has to be authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n Before he started coaching in the NBA, Kerr visited Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks. He wanted to learn about Carroll\u2019s culture to buoy what he developed playing under iconic coaches such as Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich and Lute Olson. After a long day, Carroll told Kerr to return to the hotel and \u201cthink about your life \u2014 not Phil\u2019s, not Pop\u2019s \u2014 your life. And what are the most important values in your life, from your parents, your upbringing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI came in the next day, and I had a list of things that were really important to me,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cAnd we whittled them down to four. And \u2018joy\u2019 was one of the big ones, and another one is competition. And so, to me, what our program has really been based on over the decade-plus is the balance of competitiveness and joy. A lot of people think those things aren\u2019t compatible, but I think the opposite. I think they feed into each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Nick Sirianni points to former Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry as an example of players playing with joy. (Alonzo Adams \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n In 2023, one year after the Eagles reached the Super Bowl, the Eagles suffered a late-season collapse that incited major staff changes. It also prompted Sirianni to re-evaluate his culture, from his core values to how he approached the job. During an offseason when Sirianni was thought to be on the hot seat, he said he felt \u201cjoy.\u201d It was the first time he had articulated it in that way, and he explained: \u201cWe know that it\u2019s not easy and nobody in the NFL has it easy, and everybody is cutthroat \u2026 We are, too. We want to go win, and that\u2019s the main goal. You don\u2019t get to have the joy of being a coach if you don\u2019t win, right? But I do, I\u2019m finding that joy in it. And that makes it lighter on your burden.\u201d<\/p>\n It would be one thing if this were merely an offseason talking point, but it was applied throughout the 2024 season \u2014 one in which the Eagles finished with the Lombardi Trophy.<\/p>\n That run, and the way Sirianni interspersed joy into the team\u2019s identity, has carried into this season. After the Eagles\u2019 Week 14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders broke a three-game losing streak and quieted intense scrutiny on the team, Sirianni made joy the focal point of his postgame message.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n We had that joy and confidence. What a great example of, you control your joy. You control your confidence. What a great lesson for life. Nobody else.<\/p>\n Even before December, Sirianni seemed to guard against the burden of defending a Super Bowl crown by insisting the team felt joy in victories. If the Eagles did not play to the optimum level or they were bound to encounter criticism for underperformance, Sirianni made clear to the team \u2014\u00a0and to himself, for that matter \u2014\u00a0that the Eagles must award points for wins. Harping on the negative after wins makes for a \u201cmiserable existence.\u201d<\/a> When Sirianni is his most authentic self, the joy for his job is evident. When he\u2019s staid and mellowed, he appears like a different person \u2014 almost burdened by the scrutiny and sapped of the joy that he demands from those around him.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re going to take away points when you lose, you got to give yourself points for wins, and you got to enjoy it,\u201d Sirianni said. \u201cYou\u2019re doing all these things because you love it, you\u2019re doing all these things so you can go out there and be at your best. You\u2019re doing all these things that we do throughout a week to continue to get better, and you have to be able to celebrate that when you win. I think we got a lot better feel of that than we have had in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/USATSI_21810786-scaled-e1767661771976.jpg\")
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